Downtown Schenectady plans hurricane relief event

Downtown Schenectady plans hurricane relief event

Patty Purdo walks between pieces of the broken roof of her trailer at the Seabreeze Mobile Home Park in Islamorada, Fla.

Photographer: Kevin Hagen/The New York Times

SCHENECTADY — As portions of the nation recover from back-to-back, devastating hurricanes, Schenectady businesses have teamed up for a fundraiser Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Schenectady Serves will be a simple way for locals to aid families in need in east Texas and in Florida, while enjoying good food and community conversation.

Hurricane Irma struck a devastating blow to the Florida Keys and much of the Florida peninsula last week, just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey caused widespread flood damage in and around Houston, east Texas and parts of Louisiana. The damage estimates are in the tens of billions of dollars, and by all accounts, the recovery process will take years.

The fundraiser will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. along the Proctors block of State Street. For a $5 donation, participants will be able to enjoy food prepared by Aperitivo Bistro, Johnny's, Mexican Radio, Nico's Rooftop Tavern and others.

The organizers of the event include the participating restaurants, the Schenectady Office of the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce; DeCrescente Distributing; The Alt; The Daily Gazette; Discover Schenectady; the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp.; Mallozzi's; Mazzone Hospitality; Proctors; Rivers Casino & Resort; the Schenectady Armory Center; and WGNA, which will provide music.

The event will be modeled on a fundraiser that was held downtown in September 2016 for Italian earthquake victims. That event raised $17,000.